600 Long Islanders cheered April 26, 1997 as India's Consul General Harsh Bhasin, inaugurated SUNY- Stony Brook's Center for India Studies. President Shirley Strum Kenny hailed the Center, first in the SUNY system, an extraordinary accomplishment -- a tribute to the Indian community's dynamism and commitment.
Campus Role Model: In February 1995, 700 students petitioned President Kenny for courses on India. Then the faculty, led by Professor S. N. Sridhar, worked with them to design an India Studies Program and developed new courses, often taught them as overloads, and even sent payroll deductions. The vision and the team-work of this "Vanar Sena" paid off when a Major in South Asian Studies received campus approval last year. The India Studies initiative has come to be seen as a model for others, says Provost Rollin Richmond. Its success was a catalyst in establishing a Program in Asian Studies as well.
Their Finest Hour : The Indian community pledged $100,000 to the India Studies Program at a landmark Shanti Fund function last June. Preserving and transmitting our cultural heritage, removing stereotypes, and creating a better appreciation of India is a top priority for Indians and that they are united, active, and generous in its support, says Dr Azad Anand, who led the effort. Many felt that was our finest hour.
Mission: The Center's mission is to promote a better understanding of India by creating opportunities and resources. Its specific goals include offering courses on India; reforming university curricula; sponsoring research; endowing a rotating visiting professorship; organizing study abroad programs; offering weekend courses for Indian and other Americans; and helping schools, libraries, and museums in their India outreach. Describing the Center's intellectual mission, Professor S.N. Sridhar, the Director, pointed out that the Center seeks to promote a truly global vision. with resources on India's rich cultural and intellectual traditions available at Centers such this, there is no excuse for myopically discussing ideas as if though everything began in Greece and reached its apogee in the U.S.," he declared. "The opening of the Center should signal the opening of people's minds toward India. What is needed is no less than a paradigm shift in scholarship."
Accomplishments: The Center has a library/reading room, multimedia lab, research and publications unit, a development office, and an office for visiting scholars, which have begun functioning with start-up funds from the community and the university. Students take turns staffing the Center. "The experience affirms our identity and pride in our heritage, fosters deep friendships, and teaches valuable community service skills," says Seema Pradhan, a pre-med student. Starting from almost nothing, about six India courses are now taught per semester, all oversubscribed. Seven courses are planned for this summer.
Projects: ANANYA is a volume on Indian civilization from Indus to INSAT, with 40 chapters by U.R. Ananthamurthy, Irfan Habib, Robert Hardgrave, Girish Karnad, M. N. Srinivas, and other authorities. Authoritative, comprehensive, yet readable, it is edited by S.N. Sridhar and Nirmal Mattoo, and designed to become a resource for Indian American homes, school and public libraries, and India courses. The brochure, INDIA'S PEACEFUL REVOLUTION, portrays pivotal moments of the Independence revolution through dramatic images, quotations, and narratives. Both projects are sponsored by the Association of Indians in America.
Contact and Support: The Center is off to a good start, but needs to be nurtured to maintain the momentum. To mobilize funding, Dr Anand and leading community members have founded a Stony Brook India Studies Foundation. We welcome your blessings, ideas and suggestions (as well as tax-deductible contributions payable to the Center for India Studies/Stony Brook Foundation). For a beautiful brochure, write CIS, E5350 Library, SUNYSB, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3386 Call (516) 632-9742; fax 632-9731; email: indstudy@sunysb.edu Website: w.sunysb.edu/indstudy
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